PIG-FEEDING TESTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1308, 11 December 1911, Page 8

PIG-FEEDING TESTS.

LIQUID AND SOLID. FOODS. A bulletin lias been issued by the "West of Scotland Agricultural College containing a report on' experiments ou tho iekliug of pigs, conducted at tho Dairy School, Kilmarnock, from 1905 to 1010, inclusive. Attention is drawn to tho way in which the results of the different years confirmed each other. It was found possible to uso whey profitably by t'oeding it alono to pigs: Pigs fed oh whey" only increased in live weight at au overage rate of lib. per head per day, and gave a return of a halfpenny per gallon for the whey, and a further sum of Bs. 7d. per pig towards other expenses. Pigs fed on barley meal and water, with a little wheat bran, without any dairy by-product, did not thrive so well as on whey alone, or give such a satisfactory return for the food consumed. Barley meal and water alono

were found to be quite unsuitable. On the average feeding, on/' whey -and barley meal gave no better direct return than giving whey aionei -In three cases out of live, tho return 'was less. Whey and maize meal given during the whole period of the experiment gave better results than whey with barley meal in the first period, with barley and maize meals in tho second and with maize meal in the remaining period. . The relative positions of the lots receiving maize nieal were in order of quantity of maize meal - consumed. Tho proportion of maize ~meal to whey, which gave the best results, was 2lb. meal to 21 gallons whey on an average over the wholo period with a smaller proportion of meal earlier and a greater proportion later in tho experiment. In three experiments separated milk and barley meal gave greater increases in live weights than whey and barley meal. Prom these results the relative values for bacon production, of sop-, arutcd milk and whey respectively, were found to be approximately as three to two. The amount of dry matter in tho food required to produce lib. of live weight increase varied with, among other conditions, the kind of food, the proportion of solid to liquid food, and the live weight for the pigs. It required least dry matter when the food was'maize meal and whey. _ . • : The bacon-producing values of separated milk, whey, and -meals respectively were found, to bo increased when .tho" liquid! and solid foods were conibiued. The smallest amount of dry matter was ror quired When maize meal .was given at tbe rate of 2lb. to. 2, gallons of whey. As tli3 weight of tho pig. increased, 50 did tho. quantity of food required to produce lib. live weight becpm'p greater; at 2141b. live weight it required SO per cent, more food than at 1181)}. While the pigs, went on increasing at al,oi|t thn same rate per day from 1001,1). to 2001b..live weight, the larger pig required more food to satisfy it. A heavier and older pig was found to h<> a less economical', baconproducer' than a lighter and younger pig. It was found possible to increase the live weight of the pig from - 1001b. to 2101b. in from nine,to.ten weeks at the average , weight of i.72 per head per day by feeding with separated milk and barley meal. Whan Ibi' ration was whey and" maize menl it required eleven weeks to produce (ho same increase.. Barley meal, without skim-milk or whey, produced a bacon inferior iii r/mility to that ■ from meals given with milk or whey. Barley meal and separated milk in 'every test gave the best quality. * " .

with :i mixture of equal parts barley meal ami mnize meal gavo (he best results. Whey with raw potatoes and a mixture of equal parts barley meal and maizo moal gave better results" than whev with cooked poiatops and a. similar .mixture of meals. But ivhey with a mixture of rqual parts barley 'meal and maize meal gave bettor results than whey with ,-i similar mixture of meals and either cooked potatoes or raw .potatoes - .

At the meeting of the Masterton A. and l>. Association on Saturday last, u letter was received from a Government Department in referenco to a certain request which had been ignored. Members ventured tho opinion that there would bo hopo of better treatment shortly, and, on the motion of Air. O. C. Cooper, further consideration of the matter was deferred until next meeting , .